


Before Our Spirit Falls Again

by orphan_account



Series: Christmas 2015 Song Prompts [7]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Christmas Prompt, Christmas Prompts 2015, Drabble, Fluff, M/M, helping other people during the holidays, uhhh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-07
Updated: 2015-12-07
Packaged: 2018-05-05 12:06:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5374637
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lancelot looks back on the Christmas that changed everything</p>
            </blockquote>





	Before Our Spirit Falls Again

**Author's Note:**

  * For [rocket_diving](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rocket_diving/gifts).



> **Prompt:** Merlin/Lancelot (Merlot???)  & any song (I chose We Need a Little Christmas) by rocket_diving! 
> 
> Aaand all my fluffy oneshots start to look alike oops?

It's always amazing to Lancelot, what a difference a year made. The year before, he'd spent Christmas pining over his asshole-roommate's girlfriend and ended up getting kicked out and crashing on his current boyfriend's couch. It was probably the most off-putting and awful day of his year.

He could still remember walking through the snow in his sneakers, getting soaked through, all the way to mid-downtown. He had no other friends to speak of, everyone else was too nervous that Arthur would turn his asshattery around on  _them_ to stand up for Lancelot, and he'd been, more or less, banished from the poker table. There was one other person he knew who might take pity on him. And for that reason he'd crossed town in his sneakers to find Merlin.

Merlin, for his part, had been kind as always. He'd answered the door in his bathrobe (a detail that, in hindsight, would make Lancelot very glad he is too dark to actually show any blush). "Lancelot?" He'd asked. "What happened?"

What else could Lancelot say? "Arthur happened."

Merlin had paused, considered, and then nodded abruptly. "Fair enough. Come in."

And then Lancelot had taken off his shoes to let his feet dry and Merlin treated him to a cup of coffee from his Keurig machine. Lancelot hadn't particularly wanted to talk about it, and directed the conversation back to Merlin.

"I'm surprised to see you all alone today. Don't you have plans?"

Merlin smiled kindly. "Well, as you know, I've got no family to speak of. At least not on this side of the Atlantic. So, after breakfast, I was planning to volunteer at the shelter for a few hours. Then maybe go up and down Mifflin to look at the lights. But, perhaps, we should find something to do. Now that I've got company."

"So you only volunteer when you've got nothing better to do?"

Merlin opened his mouth to protest but seemed to consider. His addendum came a moment later. "In addition to that, perhaps. Would you like to join me?"

Lancelot really hadn't wanted to at the time, the urge was to sit around and drink as much cocoa as he could fit inside him and wallow in self-pity. But perhaps it would be best to do something nice for someone, or at least to have something to do. And thus he took the chivalrous route.

That route ended with Lancelot spilling an entire pot of broccoli cheddar soup all over himself and accidentally running into Arthur and Guin at the cinema when Merlin had suggested they do something.

Could have been better. Could have had something happen that didn't make Lancelot feel so very apart from everyone and everything, even from helping others.

But, at the end of the day, when Merlin set out a couple afghans on his couch and kept the lights on the tree rolling, he'd said something to Lancelot.

"While the situation is...awful and I am sorry it happened, I..er...I'm glad we were able to spend the day together...it actually felt like a holiday."

It stuck with him so well that he remembered the exchange the next year. This year, when he wakes up the morning on the 25th, next to Merlin. They have plans to make breakfast together and open their gifts and go volunteer at the shelter. Altogether, he thinks, there's no comparable part of the holiday, and nothing whatsoever that he'd trade for it.


End file.
